Haunted Wood Jon snow doesn't want it

Damien hadn't really expected to come across any hardships on their journey, but the trail down to Haunted Wood hadn't exactly been an easy one. Between one daughter's cries for belongings left behind and a rowdy son who simply wouldn't stay in place, the distance was simply the least of their problems. Thankfully he had his court to help him manage the kids, each of which had been assigned to a guardian halfway through the very first day to make it easier to manage them during the remaining of the journey. @Lumiya was to go with @Megara, as Damien didn't expect her to be much of a problem. Revan would be guarded by Flicker, who was probably the only one capable of keeping up with his pace. Meanwhile, @Zan would stay with her mother, for Damien didn't have what it took to deal with her protests for not being allowed to bring her stuff, and @Venamis would go with @Midar, who he trusted to be his most observant subject and the one best suited to keep the little weasel in check. Damien would simply lead the party (all but @Flicker and Revan who had started moving way faster on the second day of travel), and things were under control.

It lasted long enough for them to reach the mesa that acted as sentinel over their targeted forest, and once there it was just a matter of walking around it to reach their destination. The woods had been described as vast and ominous, and although they didn't match the foreboding sense that vibrated from Blackfeather he could see where they were coming from. Unlike Phantom Hollow, this forest was the kind of place one would be grateful for having, already showing promising features like a large herd of white-tailed deer even from a distance. Perhaps the choice to come here had been the right one after all.

Flicker worked hard to both keep up with Revan and give the little shit a workout. 
She bounded along with him with good spirits, glad to be on the move. She loved traveling, no matter the reason. She was sure to not let them get too far ahead, slowing their pace with play bows so Damien could catch up.

She felt alive, strangely so. She'd hated children since the loss of her supposed litter but perhaps that short time with Astara changed her. At least she remembered how to not batter the still-fragile child. In fact, she let little Revan bite her and rolled over in feigned defeat. Though, when he bit hard enough into her to draw blood, she did yell fucker. So, if Revan started shouting fucker it was his own fault for sure.
At last, though, the thriving woods came into sight and she knew it would be as perfect as she first thought. She pointed it out to the child -- the would-be heir -- and set into another play bow to keep him from running ahead whilst the main party caught up. They weren't far behind.

She was glad that they were moving. Phantom Hollow was no place for her children to grow up in, they needed something better. With Zannah by her side, she moved behind the weaker members of their pack as Damien led them, making sure no one was left behind and that her children weren't wandering off. Especially the boys, though their spirits were high, were a handful. Not that Zannah was any better, whining about things she had collected and having to leave them behind. She assured her daughter that there'll be way more to collect in the woods they were moving to, but she wasn't sure how well Zannah was taking it all.

After the journey, everyone seemed tired but intact. That's all Nyx had hoped for. They hadn't lost anyone (1,2,3,4 - yep, all children present) and could finally rest their legs. Tulugak landed in a tree nearby and one of his feathers danced on the wind and landed nearby. Nyx picked it up with the intention of giving it to Zannah so she could start a new collection of little things that interested her.

The quiet girl kept close to Megara, never straying too far. She enjoyed the journey, but especially all the nature they encountered. She saw all different kinds of flowers and trees and grasses. She could wait to see what the new place had to offer, as she planned on discovering it all once there. She hopped along with a little smile on her face, stopping here and there to look at something but then quickly catching up with her protector again after she was done. Wook! She said every now and then when another flower crossed her path, looking left and right to make sure her hellish brother Venamis wasn't around to eat them again.

When they arrived, Lumi was tired. She panted and splatted like a dead bug upon the dirt and rested.

They were going on a trip, the boy gathered quickly, and his little heart soared with excited anticipation as the providers confirmed his suspicion by encouraging the cubs to prepare for a lengthy one. He crowned happily to himself, his scruffy black tail wiggling gleefully despite Zannah's whining complaint that she did not have permission to bring her hoard of junk along with them. Why did she want to bring all those stupid twigs and feathers, anyway? They were literally all over the place, what made those ones so special? As a child who tired of new objects swiftly, he simply failed to understand the obsession.

However, Venamis was less than impressed at having been placed beneath Midar's careful watch. While he didn't protest out loud, the spiderling did sulk. Wasn't this journey supposed to be an enjoyable one? The Lieutenant had about as much personality as Zan's dumb stone collection. He pretty much sucked the fun out of the entire experience, and Ven was probably far less tolerable as a result.

He'd wanted to be up front with his father, truthfully, but didn't know how to communicate this and his legs tired too quickly to keep pace with the dark Sovereign. As such, he was left with the Fun Sucker and regular attempts to amuse himself by stepping deliberately onto his path in attempt to trip him or nipping at his ankles. By the time they arrived at the wood chosen to be their new home, Midar would have without a doubt had enough of the leaders' rogue son.

Venamis' enthusiasm had waned. He was appropriately tired by such long travel and settled in alongside Lumi with a mighty yawn, pressing himself firmly against her as he sought to absorb her warmth.

Moving yet another time had the lieutenant far more on edge than was normal for him. He, too, was not all too happy to be strapped with the responsibility of ushering one of his king's children. He had hoped to be in the front, keeping guard over everyone and making sure the path was safe, but he had not complained when given his assignment; he would do whetever was expected of him as always.

Had he known of the nickname the child had given him, he would have been slightly amused while informing the young pup that fun was for those who had nothing important to do, which was never the case for the beast. The boy would likely learn that soon enough.

Patience was not a strength of Midar's, so each time Venamis jumped in his way or nipped at his legs, he grew more frustrated. He was trying to keep the unruly child safe, and his job was only made harder by the constant interruptions. Towards the end, he had taken to lightly reprimanding the pup with a flash of teeth and a low growl any time he was up to his antics again for however much good it did.

He didn't think anyone was as relieved as he was once they reached their target destination. He very gladly relinquished his watch over the child as Venamis sleepily wandered over to his sister. Midar quietly padded over to where Damien stood looking over their new home and silently joined. Once they were rested, he would start the large task of marking the borders, sure others would join in to help soon enough. He didn't want there to be any confusion about who this forest belonged to now.

Woefully detached from the rest of his family, he was a mere hanger's on when they began their move. He was delighted to see that his cousin Damien had children (and more secretly delighted to see that they had mixed blood rather than pure Melonii heritage, as Meldresi intended), but a bit concerned with the length of their travel. They had enough numbers to trade off whenever escorting the pups became too much, but he did not know why they had chosen to go so soon.

But he had no close ties to anyone but his Mother, and Moath...

So he followed at the rear, keeping an eye on any who would trail behind and contemplating what he should do next.

Everyone seemed to have done well enough in the journey, and Damien felt motivation rushing through him as he saw the forest in the distance. He'd been assured that their destination was even better than The Weald could have ever been and it had the added advantage that it was way closer to Blackfeather Woods without standing right on their turf; a perfectly strategical position to keep an eye on them with enough of a buffer zone to safely build up their forces for the struggles that were sure to come.

We're not quite there yet, barked Damien, But we can start spreading our mark to let everyone know we're here to stay. those had been instructions, and anyone under Damien's command for any longer than a week would know how serious he was about marking borders and defending territory. This place was for them to hold and build upon and the path they were taking for it required seriousness and sacrifice. There was no time to rest. Not now, not ever.